From Bold Ideas to Hard Truths in the World of AI!
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Welcome to WednesdAI – Pixel Dreams’ weekly update with top stories from the rapidly evolving world of Artificial Intelligence.
This Week’s Episode
This Week’s News
AI Takes Center Stage at CES 2025
CES 2025 in Las Vegas showcased a range of innovative and unconventional tech products. Highlights included AI-powered devices like Samsung’s smart fridge, designed to reduce food waste by tracking expiration dates and suggesting recipes, and a ‘magic mirror’ offering personalized skincare advice. The event also featured a variety of robots, from the emotional support robot Mirumi to LG’s AeroCatTower, an air purifier doubling as a heated cat tree.
These developments underscore the tech industry’s focus on integrating AI into everyday products, aiming to enhance user experience and address practical challenges.
For more details, visit the full article from Forbes, Mashable, Engadget, The Verge, and TechCrunch.
AI Flops at CES 2025
CES 2025 showcased several AI-powered products that seemed unnecessary and impractical. Examples include Spicerr, a spice dispenser that requires proprietary capsules, and Dreo’s AI air fryer, which calculates cooking times despite little consumer demand. Razer’s Project Ava, an AI gaming copilot, offered delayed gameplay tips, disrupting the game audio. These products highlight the industry’s rush to integrate AI without clear practical benefits.
Read the official news release at TechCrunch.
xAI Launches Grok App with Unhinged Mode
Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, has launched a standalone iOS app for its Grok chatbot, previously exclusive to X users. The app, currently in beta, allows users to obtain real-time information, answer questions, and generate images, similar to the integrated version within the X platform. Additionally, xAI is developing a dedicated Grok.com website. In a recent update, xAI introduced an “Unhinged Mode” for Grok, designed to provide responses that are intentionally objectionable, inappropriate, and offensive. This feature aims to distinguish Grok from other AI chatbots by offering less politically correct responses.
For more details check TechCrunch, TechCrunch, and Gadgets360.
OpenAI Bot Overloads Small Business Site
A small seven-person company experienced a surge in traffic that overwhelmed its website, akin to a DDoS attack, due to OpenAI’s bot. The bot’s aggressive scraping behavior led to server overloads, causing significant operational disruptions. This incident highlights the challenges small businesses face in managing unexpected automated traffic from large AI entities. For companies, it underscores the importance of implementing robust server protections and traffic management strategies to mitigate potential disruptions from AI-driven activities.
For more, visit Autogpt and TechCrunch.
AI Cuts Tech Hiring
The tech job market is undergoing a seismic shift, with software development job postings in the U.S. down to 67% of pre-pandemic levels, per Federal Reserve data. Reflecting this trend, Salesforce announced it will freeze hiring for software engineers, citing a 30% productivity boost from AI tools like Agentforce. Instead, the company plans to hire sales staff to help clients maximize AI’s potential. This shift underscores AI’s growing impact on workforce dynamics, as businesses prioritize efficiency gains over traditional hiring. For tech companies, adapting to this AI-driven landscape is critical for staying competitive.
Check out FRED, The Economic Times, and The Wall Street Journal.
Videos of the Week
What’s exciting, a short statement about what’s exciting. Just a short sentence or two about what’s most exciting.
Bet on the Evening Moos at Farm Duel Sports. This time it’s the Big Bad Wolf up against 3 Little Pigs! Stayed tuned in to all the action at The Comedy Barn 🐄🐷🐂🐭🐑🦬🐖 pic.twitter.com/u09CXQwGw1
— (Bad) Ideas for Writers (& Life) (@BadIdeasForLife) January 9, 2025
Can we make a full animated movie with the help of AI ? I explored this question with my latest short experiment. So, meet “Random Adventurer” ! (It's his real name) He's a nice guy with money issues, inspired by pulp comics and many movies. Sound on! (Full workflow below.) pic.twitter.com/sG007chfxv
— Eric Ker (@EricKerArt) January 13, 2025
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The images accompanying the news items in this article were generated in Midjourney using the following prompts:




